Been slowly replacing my junk tools with decent stuff as they have been breaking or wearing out and my big torque wrench is the latest victim.
Looking to buy a 1/2" socket 22" or longer (24"-26" preferred) neck quality torque wrench that doesn't break the bank.
I seem to keep finding wrenches in 4 categories.
1. Under $30 POS junk.
2. $50-$70 wrench where 90% say it's awesome and 10% say it fell apart after three uses.
3. $250+ pro wrenches.
4. Good rating wrenches but at 12"- 18" length handles.
Anyone have any experience with Mountain or Tekton or have another recommendations?
Not looking to spend over $90 unless there is a lifetime warrantee and even then I figure $120 is my upper limit.
Thanks in advance.
I had my 8-year old Craftsman torque wrench that we take to rally/rallycross and beat up tested by the Snap-On guy a couple years ago, and it tested out like 90-95% accurate after all that time and abuse.
I've had a few of those, and usually the locking ring breaks long before they go out of spec. That said, I tend to throw my stuff around so it's no wonder I break the plastic piece eventually.
I did shear the nub off a 1/2" craftsman torque wrench using it as a breaker bar (maybe 250 ft-lbs+), and Sears gave me a new one, even though they didn't have to technically.
I also have an OLD Utica (all-steel) torque wrench that is also still close to spec. That thing must be 20 years old by now, got it out of my great-uncle's barn lol...
I think we have a HF one in our enduro racer toolbox, but it's mostly just used during tire changes at pit stops.
Really depends - are you usuing it for precision stuff like engine building, or for lugnuts and general bolt fasteners? If the latter, just get a cheap one
The 1/2" HF torque wrench is surprisingly good.
Mostly lug nuts but there may be some engine usage in the future.
Craftsman used to be my go to but word on the internet says production has moved to China so quality has dropped and Sears isn't backing up their warranty like they used to.
The Craftsman I looked at had over 25 one star reviews compared to about 85 five star reviews.
I have a 1/4" and 3/8" Tektons. I don't have any accuracy data to share but they are reasonably well made. The 1/4" has a really quiet click that's a little hard to hear, more feel than click.
I have a pair of Husky torque wrenchs. They came with paperwork stating they were within 3% and I have them calibrated every 2 to 3 years because they get used on aircraft from time to time.
They're lifetime warrantied and pretty nice.
Pro tip:
CDI makes the torque wrenches for most of the big guys, and they are way cheap used because of lack of name recognition. They are not even too bad new. My 1/4" dial inch-pounds is a CDI and its tip top. I have a Snap On 3/8 clicker that is OK, has a nice feel but was $$, and a Husky big ol 1/2" for big stuff.
Honestly I would buy Horrible Freight or one of these, really no need for a mid-range wrench.
https://www.amazon.com/CDI-2503MFRMH-Micrometer-Adjustable-Torque/dp/B000I1WMAW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1529180862&sr=8-4&keywords=cdi%2B1%2F2%2Btorque%2Bwrench&th=1
I tested HF and Husky against Snap On and Matco and they were very close in accuracy. For anything but very precision work like head bolts that aren't reusable and require a certain stretch the HF and Husky would be fine IMO. Using various brands the tool truck ones feel and look much higher quality. The only failure I've had in the past 15 years or so was a Matco, they said they'd fix it then jerked me around about it for like a year and didn't fix it or return it to me so I could at least use it as a disposable breaker bar. Consequence, they lost my future business.
Mine are CDI brand, the folks who make the tool truck torque wrenches.
Zoro.com is where I get all my CDI stuff when they are running a discount sale. There's actually a 15% off sale today and free shipping.
Cactus
Reader
6/17/18 2:38 p.m.
Non-resuable head bolts generally have degrees in the torque spec. Unless you grab a protractor to do the 90's (I don't), I wouldn't fret too much about your wrenches. Buy what you can afford, and be reasonable balancing your needs vs your expectations. I'd rather trust a HF wrench that was taken care of and recalibrated than a snap-on that's seen 10 years of neglect.
Fr3AkAzOiD said:
Mostly lug nuts but there may be some engine usage in the future.
Craftsman used to be my go to but word on the internet says production has moved to China so quality has dropped and Sears isn't backing up their warranty like they used to.
The Craftsman I looked at had over 25 one star reviews compared to about 85 five star reviews.
"Made in China" is meaningless. I've spent my career watching China's industrial production (in a certain area), and Chinese factories "build to spec" just like anyplace else. Yes, China makes a lot of cheap stuff because companies like HF spec them to build cheap stuff. Assuming Craftsman didn't actually change the material specs of their torque wrenches when they moved production, you are getting the exact same tool as before. They weren't made of a magical American steel that cannot be perfectly reproduced in China......
That said, it's certainly possible that Craftsman reduced the material spec of the tools when they moved production to China, which could account for reduced quality. But I suspect that a lot of the online dogging on "Made in China" in general is more about " 'Murica #1!!!" and the tired old trope that everything made in China is cheap and inferior quality than actual facts. IDK.....
For lug nuts, what about using a deflection beam torque wrench? A lot less to go wrong and not much of a way for it to go out of calibration.
trucke
SuperDork
6/18/18 9:33 a.m.
MadScientistMatt said:
For lug nuts, what about using a deflection beam torque wrench? A lot less to go wrong and not much of a way for it to go out of calibration.
This what I use to setup pinion turning torque for proper crush in rearend work.
MadScientistMatt said:
For lug nuts, what about using a deflection beam torque wrench? A lot less to go wrong and not much of a way for it to go out of calibration.
True story: The calibration people at my previous job once came and pulled every single 6" scale out of our flight line boxes and sent them out for calibration. Apparently the Air Force demanded that every tool used to measure anything be calibrated and the scales didn't have a cal sticker on them.
Beam types are a lot more resistant to being dropped than click types. My personal preference is click type so I don't need to have eyes on the gauge when I'm working overhead or in an awkward position.
That said I had two Harbor Freight click type torque wrenches go bad after the first use. I'm pretty sure the ball assembly jammed up somehow. That pissed me off.
I just went through this since my 10+ year old craftsman's locking ring finally failed enough that I couldn't use it any more.
After looking at the options available, I went with this Husky from Home Depot for $85. I liked the metal locking ring that you pull down to unlock. So far, so good! I'll let you know how it holds up in 10 years or so :)
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
I just ordered that Husky and it should arrive tomorrow or Wednesday.
Hoping it works out well, sure is long enough.
Finishing a project Sunday I picked up a pos 18" beam type for $15.
Least now I have backups.
I have a pair of Husky torque wrenches that I've had for something like 20 years now. They still work great, as checked by testing them against a beam-type torque wrench. I have no idea if the current models are of the same quality or not, though.
Lately, I have been pretty happy with the price/quality ratio on GearWrench branded tools. If I needed to buy new torque wrenches I'd probably look at those. Also, supposedly you can get used Snap-On or other tool truck torque wrenches for not a whole lot more than new Craftsman or GearWrench.
I have a 1/2 AmPro 10-150ft lbs which is probably 15 years old now, mostly use on the lugnuts and occasionally suspension and rarely underhood as it's bulky and big to swing around. I've probably only used it around the engine bays half a dozen times when say doing timing belts to tighten a tensioner bolt down and on crank pulleys. It looks identical to the HF one. No clue how accurate it may still be though but gives a piece of mind when certain bolts are tightened down at least evenly to one another.
Fr3AkAzOiD said:
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
I just ordered that Husky and it should arrive tomorrow or Wednesday.
Hoping it works out well, sure is long enough.
Finishing a project Sunday I picked up a pos 18" beam type for $15.
Least now I have backups.
I hope you like it as much as I do :) The extra swing is nice when you're torquing in the 150+ range. It was a struggle some times to get positioned right to do that with my older (shorter) craftsman, with this one, you have such a long lever arm that it's easy to hit. The only problem is it doesn't fit nicely in my toolbox horizontally.
I'm glad that yours have held up that long, Codrus'!
irish44j said:
Fr3AkAzOiD said:
Mostly lug nuts but there may be some engine usage in the future.
Craftsman used to be my go to but word on the internet says production has moved to China so quality has dropped and Sears isn't backing up their warranty like they used to.
The Craftsman I looked at had over 25 one star reviews compared to about 85 five star reviews.
"Made in China" is meaningless. I've spent my career watching China's industrial production (in a certain area), and Chinese factories "build to spec" just like anyplace else. Yes, China makes a lot of cheap stuff because companies like HF spec them to build cheap stuff. Assuming Craftsman didn't actually change the material specs of their torque wrenches when they moved production, you are getting the exact same tool as before. They weren't made of a magical American steel that cannot be perfectly reproduced in China......
That said, it's certainly possible that Craftsman reduced the material spec of the tools when they moved production to China, which could account for reduced quality. But I suspect that a lot of the online dogging on "Made in China" in general is more about " 'Murica #1!!!" and the tired old trope that everything made in China is cheap and inferior quality than actual facts. IDK.....
+1. I couldn’t agree more
Ian F
MegaDork
6/22/18 5:30 a.m.
The most important thing about making a torque wrench last is treating it like the precision tool it is. Don't drop it. Don't use it for anything other than final tightening. Store it safely when not in use.
Split beam types are generally the most durable, which is why you'll see that type in most tire shops.
